582 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



census-takers. The tabulated state- 

 ment of the last census was manifestly 

 incorrect and misleading in every par- 

 ticular ; and any calculations made 

 upon that statement, are not only 

 worthless, but injurious and demor- 

 alizing. 



As these serious defects are realized 

 by the census board, we may hope for 

 " better things ", in the next census 

 reports. " These two questions, 

 capital invested and average wages, 

 as answered hy the census," said Col. 

 Wright, " illustrate the fallacy of at- 

 tempting to solve a certain line of 

 economic questions through the cen- 

 sus as it has existed. In making this 

 criticism let it be understood that I 

 arraign myself as ■severely as anyone 

 else, for within a few years I have 

 followed, in all the census work in 

 which I have been engaged, the old 

 form, nor did I fully comprehend the 

 enormity of the error, the infinite 

 harm it has done and is likely to do." 

 —Ed.] 



Gleanings. 



WMliastlieHaryestlieen? 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



It has been pretty slim here— the 

 poorest since I have been in the busi- 

 ness. In a letter, Mr. Heddon says : 

 " Clover, one-fourth crop. Basswood 

 blossomed full, but no better crop 

 than clover. It went right by like a 

 cylone, and was all over before we 

 knew that it was drawing to a close." 

 This expresses the situation exactly. 



Well, what are we going to do about 

 it ? We can keep our dishes right side 

 up, and I presume most of us have 

 lost nothing from lack of care in this 

 direction, but we cannot make honey- 

 showers. Those of us who are for- 

 tunate enough to have any surplus 

 will probably find ready sale for our 

 honey at a good figure. 



Prices will probably not go so high 

 that our income would be what it 

 would have been had the harvest been 

 abundant ; still, this is not impossi- 

 ble. Farmers sometimes make the 

 most money during the years whf n 

 crops are light. Twenty-five or even 

 twenty cents per pound for coinb 

 honey would be a big boost for those 

 who have a tew hundred pounds to 

 sell. That these figures may be reach- 

 ed, does not seem at all improbable. 

 Already honey is being quoted at 16 

 to 18 cents, while nearly every market 

 is reported as bare of honey. Honey- 

 dealers are becoming really interested 

 in the situation. Those who have 

 honey to sell should not be in a hurry 

 to market. Certainlj; nothing can be 

 lost by waiting until November or 

 December. 



And now a word about the bees : 

 Many of them will probably be short 

 of stores, and, unless fed, will die of 

 starvation in the coming winter. 



Many bee-keepers will " lose their 

 heads," become disgusted and dis- 

 couraged with the bee-business, and 

 the bees will be neglected. 



Honey will bring a big price, and by 

 next spring their courage will return, 

 and those who have -bees to sell will 

 have no difficulty in getting good 

 prices. So, to those who will attend 

 strictly to business, the short crop of 

 this year may be a blessing in dis- 

 guise. 



See that the bees are well cared for; 

 that they go into winter quarters in 

 first-class condition. This will proba- 

 bly be one of the years when it will 

 pay to winter the bees on sugar, as 

 the difference in price between honey 

 and sugar will be greater than it has 

 been in several years. Keep a stiff 

 upper lip, and, if you must retreat, do 

 so in good order. 



Eogersville,o- Mich. 



Fop the American Bee JoumaL 



Causes Of Droutli.SecDras Rainfall, etc. 



J. M. HAMBAUGH. 



Any suggestions or ideas that en- 

 deavor to explain the cause of the 

 great absence of rainfall throughout a 

 large portion of our territory, will 

 meet with a critical eye thousands of 

 eager sufferers throughout our drouth- 

 ridden districts ; and in proportion as 

 the arguments are plausible, and in 

 accordance with the natural laws 

 governing our universe, will they be 

 accepted as truthful arguments. 



I am in direct sympathy with Prof. 

 Hills' statement on page 487, and be- 

 lieve that when we remove the natur- 

 al cause of rainfall, by drainage and 

 t;leage, we may reasonably expect a 

 reverse of the natural laws in the 

 shape of drouths^, and the more per- 

 fect and general this system becomes, 

 the greater will be the absence of rain- 

 fall, and more especially during the 

 summer season, when it is most need- 

 ed. During the times of the equinoxes 

 in spring and fall, the elements are 

 more active, driving the mists from 

 the ocean and larger lakes further 

 inland, where they are precipitated 

 more generally over the country, ren- 

 dering the country less liable to 

 drouths ; hut as the hot days of sum- 

 mer advance, evaporation becomes 

 greater, and the winds less prevalent, 

 the Earth is soon drained of her waters 

 that flow quickly into the main chan- 

 nels and rivers, and from thence to 

 the lakes, gulf, and ocean, and the 

 earth is left destitute of the where- 

 with to cause rainfall ; hence with 

 the cessation of the winds, may we 

 reasonably expect but little or no 

 rainfall, when it must emanate from a 

 distance of from 300 to 1,500 miles. 



The proof of this is the fact that 

 the greater portion of the rainfall dur- 

 ing the months of July and August 

 have followed the coasts of the gulf, 

 oceans and lakes. Should this prove 

 a correct theory of our present troubles 

 it then becomes us as an enlightened 

 people to secure a remedy, and which 

 will be found in the following sen- 

 tence : Keep our waters inland. As 



Prof. Hill states, this can be done by 

 artificial lakes, and will prove a source 

 of both pleasure and profit, aside from 

 gratifying nature's laws for irrigation, 

 etc. 



Besides the great benefits to be 

 gained by a plentiful rainfall, we may 

 avert, to some extent, the ravages of 

 the cyclone. I believe that while the 

 destruction of the forests from the 

 face of the earth is breaking one of 

 the barriers of its ravages, there are 

 still other causes not generally under- 

 stood ; one of which might be the ab- 

 sence of sufficient evaporation to cause 

 condensation quick enough to prevent 

 the storm assuming the shape of a 

 cyclone. I believe that the accumulat- 

 ing power acts as a magnet, attract- 

 ing the elements from a long distance, 

 and where there is an absence of 

 evaporation, there is no retarding the 

 progress of the winds, which increase 

 as they advance, until they are retard- 

 ed by heavily condensed vapors, 

 which can be averted, in a measure, 

 by an increase of evaporation. I 

 would be but too happy to assist in 

 the cause that will avert a repetition 

 of this year's catastrophe. 



While prayer might be efficacious, 

 I believe that Almighty God has given 

 us an intellect whereby we might 

 study understandingly natural causes, 

 and with the aid of His powerful and 

 divine wisdom, work out the reme- 

 dies. Let every one bend his intellect 

 and energies in this direction, and 

 under the supervision of the All- 

 Seeing Eye above, the remedy will 

 come. 



Like Mr. Peufield, on page 534, 

 " We know how indispensable the 

 factor (of rain) is to the farming and 

 bee-keeping industries." In the place 

 of barren or burnt up fields, we would 

 have them heavily laden with the 

 products of the soil. In the place of 

 empty hives, we would have them 

 filled with honey, and a joyful, happy 

 populace. 



Spring,*o 111. 



Haldimand Advocate. 



HaliliniaiKl, Ontario^ CoiiTention, 



The Haldimand Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation met at South Cayuga, Ontario, 

 on Saturday, Aug. 27, Mr. Kindree, 

 President, in the chair. The minutes 

 of the last meeting were read and 

 adopted. 



WHEN TO PREPAKE BEES FOR WINTER 



The President said that he com- 

 menced preparing his bees for winter 

 in the early part of September ; he 

 crowded the bees on as few frames as 

 they could cover, put sticks over the 

 frames so that the bees could get to 

 their stores, and put a chaff cushion 

 on top. He contracted the entrance 

 to the hive so as to prevent too much 

 draft, and put a division-board in the 

 front part of the hive. 



Mr. Armstrong examines his bees 

 to see that they have a good queen, 

 and that there are plenty of young 

 bees. He would advise those who 

 had extracted too closely, to feed 

 their bees at once, so as to start the 



